Street Sense Media

As a girl, Wendy Oxenhorn aspired to become a professional ballerina before a tragic injury shattered her dream. But that twist of fate catapulted her into a life of social work that eventually led her to co-found the first street paper and spark a global movement. Today, there are 112 street papers in 35 countries employing some 11,000 homeless vendors at any given time. But Wendy’s work didn’t s...

Born in Mississippi, raised in Pennsylvania,  Patty Smith  now calls D.C. home. It’s here where she’s spent the last decade selling Street Sense. She started in 2005, two years after the paper was founded. Her life, like many struggling with housing stability, was steeped in unexpected setbacks, bad luck, bad relationships, and bad health. The one constant through the tough times has been music —...

On June 3, 2015, a group of students from Alice Deal Middle School  organized a rally to support homeless anti-discrimination legislation . Guided by their teacher, Michael Martini, then-sixth graders Nico Foxley and Sofia Giorgianni worked with The National Coaltion for the Homeless and the People for Fairness Coalition. The capstone event was part of a year-long service-oriented curriculum where...

Though Snowzilla and the dark days of winter are fading from our memories, it’s technically not spring yet. In fact, the  Interagency Council on Homelessness ’s [ICH] plan to protect the homeless from hypothermic injury lasts until the end of March. Analyst Kate Coventry of the  D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute  is on the show to share her knowledge of the Winter Plan. She’s joined by artist and advoc...

After weeks of walking past a Street Sense vendor selling newspapers, online marketing expert Adam Motiwala eventually asked the vendor if he was interested in an experiment. What began as a one-on-one digital marketing tutorial developed into a weekly workshop at Street Sense called Digital Hope. Adam discusses how his workshop has evolved into a groundbreaking income-generating model for homeles...

At age 24,  Nick Flynn  started working at the Pine Street Inn, the largest shelter in Boston. It was here that he reconnected with his estranged father, who was unsheltered at the time. Ten years later, Nick shared the story in his moving memoir, “Another Bullshit Night in Suck City”, which was later adapted to the big screen as  Being Flynn , starring Robert De Niro and Paul Dano. Nick explores...

It doesn’t take much for someone to lose his or her way in life, but substance abuse certainly accelerates the process. Addiction is a painful problem that plagues people from all walks of life. No one is immune and that became abundantly clear in talking to Father Tom Weston, a Jesuit priest. The native Californian has been clean and sober for some 40 odd years. He’s spent those years working wit...

Working as an educator and counselor in Stafford, VA, Christie Jones has come into contact with a lot of children experiencing homelessness.  She decided to write Are We Home Yet? , her first book, to shine a light on the issue. Max, the main character, gives homeless children a chance to see themselves represented in a book while allowing non-homeless kids a chance to better understand what life...

As Street Sense enters a new year, our executive director sits down to discuss the organization’s past, present and future. Brian, who has been fighting homelessness in the nation’s capital since the 80s, discusses what still needs to be done to solve the problem and how an exciting new Street Sense jobs training initiative might help. A full transcript of this interview is available here .

In a slight departure from our typical guests, we sit down with a policy maker. This is something we hope to do more and more. Laura Zeilinger has dedicated her professional career to working on behalf of low-income families who need access to better (and more) affordable housing. The former Executive Director of the US Interagency Council on the Homeless, Laura was chosen by Mayor Muriel Bowser i...

A father, a jazz-lover, an artist, and an entrepreneur, Ken Martin is a true renaissance man. But after two heart attacks and a prolonged health struggle cost him his job and his home, he found himself sleeping at Reagan National Airport. In an ironic twist of fate, a man that worked in social services for over 20 years is now experiencing housing instability himself. Yet Ken remains positive. A s...

Robert Williams says his years of service in Marine Corps helped him secure a HUD housing voucher, but not the respect and compassion that he and so many homeless veterans like him deserve. Surrounded by a society blind to the struggles of the homeless, Robert has turned to poetry and theatre to help increase awareness. A full transcript of this interview is available here .

In the last episode, we learned how Benjamin is a musician of and for the people. He performs with homeless musicians and will often donate some of his proceeds to folks who are struggling to make it on the streets. This time, Gates is going to reveal his origin story– how he found the cello, or rather how the cello found him. In addition to his music, Benjamin shares some heartfelt thoughts about...

Benjamin Gates grew up playing the cello. Now the instrument is his livelihood. From playing gigs at the Embassy of Sweden to the occasional wedding, Gates connects with the greater community through what he calls being a “musician of the people.” That’s not some fluffy promotional nickname – he means it. Tune in to hear how and why. Gates played live at the Street Sense 2015  “Home is Where the h...

It’s no secret that, whether you’re suffering from PTSD, depression, pain or grief — making art heals. Art therapy through music, dance and reciting poetry is gaining traction in all sorts of scientific studies. This week, in part two of our conversation with Angie Whitehurst, she shares her perspective on art, how it connects humanity and how it soothes the soul. Plus, art does not discriminate....

Angie Whitehurst’s story explodes any and all stereotypes of what homelessness is or “looks like.” An econ and poli-sci major at Connecticut College, Whitehurst was an accomplished international consultant for years until she contracted a rare—and oftentimes fatal—strain of malaria in the early 80s. Twenty years later, she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Hamstrung by a pair of debilitating diseas...

Jeffery McNeil discusses the joy of writing, welfare (and why he’s not for it) and how his regulars helped him kick his addictions, find employment and rise up out of homelessness. A full transcript of this interview is available here .

Cynthia Mewborn lived in a tent for a year on the street. In spite of the mental and emotional toll that’s taken on her body and soul, she’s fighting harder than ever to get her life back. Part of her recovery, as she calls, is opening up about her rough experience and the associated PTSD and anger she’s been forced to manage. She’s now housed and super engaged in several multimedia workshops put...

Thanks in large part to police brutality and racism, Levester Green has been homeless off and on for years. But when you see Levester’s electric smile, it’s difficult to grasp the fact that he lives on the street. He’s living proof that people have an infinite capacity to endure. In this episode, he shares his take on street life and explains how art (poetry, filmmaking, music) helps propel him fo...

In this episode, Sasha Williams reveals the haunting story behind her homelessness and then counters her tragic narrative with extraordinary grace and positivity. She also shares a couple beautiful life hacks: one of which is being a mom to her pride and joy, Eboni. A full transcript of this interview is available here .

In this interview Artist-in-Residence Bardia Saaedi, explores interactive art, becoming an activist, and, of course, his dynamic art/bus project. The participants in his workshop are literally transforming a bus into a mobile art gallery and advocacy platform. If you'd like to see the bus and the folks working on it, check out these gorgeous images shot by Reuters . And you can learn more about th...

In the inaugural Street Sense Media podcast, longtime vendor Eric Thompson-Bey discusses shelter conditions, friendship, and more. A full transcript of this interview is available  here .